J. Lamberth grants the contractor's motion for sanctions in the subcontractor's suit against it stemming from a dispute over a renovation of the Latvian Embassy. The contractor is awarded attorney's fees and costs and the subcontractor is prohibited from introducing evidence relating to costs incurred on the project and opposing the contractor's expert's cost opinions, as sanction for repeated and flagrant failures to follow court orders and produce required discovery.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Lamberth, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1643, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Sanctions, Discovery, Contract
J. Knapp grants the postal service contractor's motion to dismiss, ruling the employee's claim he "reported concerns" about underpayment of wages to supervisors are too vague and conclusory to meet pleading requirements under the False Claims Act, especially considering there is no information about the specific wage payment violations or how the contractor responded to the reports.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Knapp, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 1:19cv1900, NOS: Qui Tam (31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)) - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Employment, Evidence, False Claims
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J. Jackson finds a lower court properly dismissed a father's civil rights claims against a housing authority. The father argued that he was entitled to welfare priority benefits to send his children to a Muslim school. However, the local borough sufficiently showed in court that the housing authority is only obligated to place children is schools in a nearby location, where education is free. Affirmed.
Court: Her Majesty's Court of Appeal, Judge: Jackson, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: CA-2023-577, Categories: Civil Rights, Education
[Consolidated.] J. Tjoflat finds that the district court properly ruled in favor of the timeshare company in two actions brought by consumers alleging that the company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by inaccurately reporting that they owed debts. The consumers' claims are not actionable because they cannot identify inaccurate or incomplete information provided by the company to the consumer reporting agencies. The inaccuracies alleged by the consumers stem from a contractual dispute over whether the debt was due and collectible. The information in dispute is therefore not "objectively and readily verifiable." Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Tjoflat, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 22-11014, Categories: Consumer Law
Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court properly denied defendant's request to vacate one conviction stemming from a terrorism-related plot to engage in coordinated suicide bombings in the New York City subway system. Because defendant was convicted of possessing a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence, he also was guilty of attempted terrorism as a crime of violence on the premise of aiding and abetting. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 21-1438, Categories: Terrorism
J. Levy grants the dismissal of all claims brought against Westbrook, Maine, and several of its officials by a former employee they fired. The employee’s supervisor’s different treatment of the employee was not do to the employee being male, but the fact that the employee replaced the supervisor’s paramour, so it wasn’t discrimination on the basis of sex.
Court: USDC Maine, Judge: Levy, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv123, NOS: Civil Rights - Habeas Corpus, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Rodriguez mostly adopts a magistrate judge’s recommendations and grants a loan company’s motion for summary and default judgment after it was sued by a homeowner seeking to stop a foreclosure. That company, which countersued to quiet title, is the valid owner of the property and is “authorized to enforce the power of sale through foreclosure.”
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 5:22cv1234, NOS: Foreclosure - Real Property, Categories: Property, Real Estate, Foreclosure
J. Partida-Kipness finds that the lower court properly granted the appellees' pleas to the jurisdiction in this suit involving the appellant's property taxes and allegations that his payments were not properly applied against a judgment. The pro se appellant fails to adequately brief his issues, and the court additionally finds that the appellees were "entitled to dismissal" based on governmental immunity. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Partida-Kipness, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 05-23-00224-CV, Categories: Tax, Fiduciary Duty, Jurisdiction
J. Snyder grants an airport's motion to dismiss a concession lease agreement dispute with a company that was providing online car parking services and operating airport lounges. The company alleges that after it declined to make a charitable contribution requested by the airport board president, the airport changed its scoring methodology so that the company would lose its bid. The company alleges that the airport then did not pay the full termination payment. The company did not present fraud claims in compliance with the California Government Claims Act but is granted leave to amend.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Snyder, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv4909, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Contract
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court improperly ordered the defendants to respond to the second set of interrogatories for information identifying any gifts or transfers made to family members since 1998 in this suit seeking a judgment to declare plaintiff the sole owner and stockholder of the family business. This request is overly broad and burdensome, as the only relevant period is for gifts or transfers made in 2012. Reversed in part.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 02182, Categories: Business Practices, Discovery
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court improperly dismissed the paternal grandmother's petition for additional visitation with her grandchildren due to the mother's cancellation of visits. The grandmother is entitled to a hearing on her allegations that the mother interfered with her visitation rights and whether that conduct warrants a modification of the visitation order. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 02201, Categories: Family Law
J. Wood rules in favor of the city, police colonel and police chief in a malicious prosecution action brought by the individual arising from his arrest for swinging a bottle towards the colonel. The assault, terroristic threats and disorderly conduct charges against the individual were eventually dismissed. The colonel and the police chief are entitled to qualified and official immunity. The colonel had probable cause to arrest the individual and the police chief cannot be held liable under supervisory liability. There is no evidence that either the colonel or police chief acted with actual malice or an actual intent to harm the individual.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Wood, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: 5:22cv63, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Malicious Prosecution
J. Donovan answers a certified legal question concerning common law and contracts. The court concludes “that the common law contract defenses of impossibility, impracticability, and frustration of commercial purpose are so fundamentally related to contract formation and purpose that they remain viable unless expressly waived. Accordingly, a force majeure clause that protects only one party to a contract should not be deemed, in and of itself, a relinquishment of the other party’s right to interpose those common law defenses.” Remanded.
Court: New Hampshire Supreme Court, Judge: Donovan, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: 2023-0018, Categories: Commerce, Contract
[Consolidated.] J. Collins finds that the trial court should have granted all the special anti-SLAPP motions to strike claims that the idea for the television series "Mixed-ish" was stolen. The making of a television series is protected activity, which satisfied the first element of the anti-SLAPP analysis. And the second element was satisfied by the challenger's failure to demonstrate a probability of success on her contract, breach of confidence, interference and misrepresentation claims. The challenger's work showed similarity to "Mixed-ish," but key elements in "Mixed-ish" appeared in the producers' own previous show, "Black-ish," while the "general theme, tone, characters, relationships, settings, and plots demonstrate that the two series are not substantially similar." Reversed in part.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Collins, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: B316971, Categories: Anti-slapp, Contract
J. Choudhury tosses a class action brought by a self-representing litigant claiming several entities orchestrated a scheme to bankrupt and ultimately close an all-girls Catholic high school in Long Island, as well as other schools throughout the country. His claims do not concern federal law or establish diversity jurisdiction. Most notably, the court rules a pro se litigant cannot serve as class representative and class counsel at the same time, as that would unfairly prejudice the class members.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Choudhury, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: 2:24cv2636, NOS: Truth in Lending - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Fraud, Jurisdiction, Class Action
J. Moss partially grants the FDA's motion for summary judgment and the tobacco vaporizer maker's cross-motion for summary judgment in a Freedom of Information Act suit brought by the vape maker seeking information on its denied premarket tobacco applications. The FDA's withholding of records under an exemption for "inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters" was proper because those documents were part of the deliberative process, regardless of the vape maker's various arguments that they were produced after the agency's decisions were made, because they were nevertheless produced before those decisions were finalized and published. Memos summarizing scientific data also are not privilege-free scientific reports in this case, since they were compiled for deliberative purposes. The agency has also established that the release of withheld memos would cause foreseeable harm and would chill the ongoing supervisory review process.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Moss, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv2853, NOS: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) - Other Suits, Categories: Administrative Law, Government, Public Record
J. Cooper grants the employer's motion for partial summary judgment and denies the employee's motion for summary judgment in a suit alleging that the employee reneged on an obligation to return a bonus when she left her role as the employer's subsidiary's president. The pay schedule provisions of the employee's bonus contract is enforceable, and the employee breached them by failing to return an accelerated payment. The doctrine of unclean hands also does not apply in this case. The employer's request for fees incurred in summary judgment briefing as a sanction for the employee's litigation conduct is denied.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Cooper, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv2574, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Employment, Choice Of Law, Contract
J. Moss denies the state of Florida's motion seeking a stay of an injunction entered in a suit brought under the Endangered Species Act pending appeal. Staying the decision would, in effect, deny the environmental groups the preliminary injunctive relief they sought, so the public interest and risk of injury to those groups weigh against a stay. Florida, meanwhile, has not demonstrated that it is likely to suffer an irreparable injury absent a stay, nor that it is likely to prevail on appeal.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Moss, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv119, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Procedure, Environment
J. Tigar allows negligence and race discrimination claims to proceed from a single plaintiff against the California Department of Corrections stemming from an incident at CTF Soledad in July 2020 where more than 50 Black inmates were awakened in the middle of the night to be interrogated in the dining hall, leading to an outbreak of Covid-19 at the facility. Of the initial class of over 50 people who were allegedly targeted by the event or got Covid from it, years of proceedings narrowed the class down to six. Today it is trimmed down further to just one. The rest lack standing for not exhausting all of their administrative options.
Court: USDC Northern District of California, Judge: Tigar, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv582, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Prisoners' Rights